This invention is related generally portable storage enclosures, and in particular to a secure storage unit that is adapted for installation on the open load bed of a light duty pickup truck.
In the course of using utility motor vehicles by tradesmen in connection with various jobs, controlled or organized storage space is needed for such items as replacement parts, tools, equipment, supplies, blueprints and reference manuals that may require reasonably secure storage and shelter from the elements. The increasingly widespread use of open load bed pickup trucks as personal transportation vehicles has increased the need for improvements in storage enclosures in such vehicles which may be used for transporting and safeguarding personal items such as luggage, musical instruments, cameras, portable telephones, portable radios and other valuables. Certain other vehicles such as jeeps, vans, sport-utility vehicles and station wagons also lack organized, confined storage space adjacent the rear door or tailgate.
It is known to provide storage enclosures or trunks for securing portable property such as tools, luggage and equipment on the open load bed of a utility vehicle or light duty pickup truck. Pickup trucks include a generally rectangular box-like load bed, and storage enclosures and security trunks have been developed which mount on the forward portion of the load bed, just behind the vehicle cab. Although such enclosures provide secure and substantially weather-tight storage for personal property, the forward deck installation makes access and retrieval difficult.
It has also been proposed to mount tool boxes or enclosures on the hinged tailgates of vehicles such as pickup trucks, wherein laterally spaced stanchions are secured to the tailgate and support a toolbox on trunnions which permit the toolbox to remain in a horizontal or upright position when the tailgate is open or closed. However, the clearance required to maintain such a toolbox in an upright position, regardless of the position of the tailgate, requires the toolbox to occupy a considerable amount of space within the load bed.
It is often desirable to open the tailgate for insertion or removal of articles which have an overall length substantially the same as or slightly greater than the length of the load bed itself. Moreover, it is often necessary for tradesmen and craftsmen to use the tailgate in the open position as a work support surface while having ready access to tools, equipment and supplies near or adjacent to the tailgate. Still further, the entire deck of the load bed is sometimes needed for storage of materials when the tailgate is in an open or closed position. Front mounted tool boxes or storage enclosures do not satisfy that requirement. Moreover, other conventional storage enclosures for open load bed vehicles are difficult to remove from the load bed when the entire load bed space is needed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,598,962; 5,564,776; 5,498,049; 5,324,089; 4,938,519; and Des. U.S. Pat. No. 321,159, all assigned to the assignee of the present invention, disclose and claim certain improvements in portable storage enclosures for installation on motor vehicles equipped with hinged tailgates.